Ben Bishop Starts and Finishes; Tampa Bay Beats Chicago

Tampa bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop mysteriously left Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals twice, but was ably replaced by Andrei Vasilevskiy, who got the win in the Lightnings’ 4-3 win June 6th. Exactly why Bishop left remained a mystery, so there were questions about who would start in goal in Game 3 June 8th.

Bishop did indeed start Game 3, and played the entire game as the Lightning edged the Blackhawks in another close game by a score of 3-2. Afterwards, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper still wouldn’t reveal why Bishop left Game 2, and would only say he’d talk about it after the series was over, and that he decided Bishop could start Game 3 after holding a lengthy discussion with the goalie. If he was hurt (or not) or sick (or not), Bishop made 36 saves in getting the win, a victory that gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead in the series.

Chicago took the lead 2-1 at 4:14 of the third period on a Brandon Saad goal. Tampa Bay made a quick comeback when Ondrej Palat scored just 13 seconds later. Cedric Paquette scored the game winner at 16:49, and the Lightning held off the Blackhawks’ comeback attempt.

Game 4 is in Chicago on Wednesday June 10th.  Ben Bishop will start in goal for Tampa Bay.  Maybe. Or not.